All Right! i know that the XFit community is the most fit community that i know of,but? Saw a documentary last nite that got me thinking. How many pullups do we have in us? Will our bodies start to deterioate do to the stress we put it through? What is actually harder on the knees, our hips, doing 100 body squats quickly or doing 3 sets of 12 with 200 lbs? Can we wear out and if so what causes it, I know the old saw, I'd rather wear out than rust out .What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are that pull ups and squats are too uniform to do constantly. I think it is unnatural to do the same movement over and over and over day after week after month. It certainly has proven so for my body.

Jeff, I'm 44 years old. I am in better shape than most of my peers and people always estimate that I'm younger. Could be that I don't have a beer gut and jowls, could be I could actually run and lift stuff. Regardless, I am in better all around shape now then I've ever been and I wasn't ever a couch potato (well about 4 years I went through a powerlifting stage and ate whatever I wanted, started to look like a powerlifter too). When I was a gymnast my strength to weight ratio was better, but my cardio conditioning sucked. When I did a triathlon, my strength and power were way down (weighted 155, I now weigh 200), but my steady state cardio kicked butt. Now, I feel I could do anything. I think when you get older you need to concentrate on the fine tune things a little more: flexibility, NUTRITION, rest, warm-up. But I plan on working out this way the rest of my life. I don't see myself wearing down, actually the opposite. I would like to compete in Master's Weightlifting competition's and indoor rowing competition's. So, I don't agree, as long as your gradually ramping up, your body could handle a lot of overload.

I'm 44 years old. I am in better shape than most of my peers and people always estimate that I'm younger.
Larry, you're 44?!? Chalk me up as one that thought you were younger....by at least 6-8 years (based on the age of your kids). As for better shape than most of your peers, most of the 40+'s (you know...the OLD guys) on the board are in better shape than 99% of the people 20+ years younger than them....that's impressive.

Andrew, running on concrete is a lot of impact to your knees and ankles.

As for the original question, I'm not sure of the answer. But I'd rather be 60 with bad knees and great health than 60 with good knees and bad health.

Everyone ages differently. I run with a guy who is 12 years older than me. The guy is in great shape and has no running related problems. I, on the other hand am plagued with nagging running related injuries. He and I have run together for the past five years or so. His body just reacts differently to the stresses of running. BUT, I also study kung fu, mountain bike, do occasional triatlons and do Crossfit. All he does is run. Hmmmmmmmm.

All of these elements interact and movement along one line will, at the extremes, compromise other elements (for example the performance necessary to win the Tour is likely at odds with health and longevity).

Back to the original question: Is CF at odds with health and longevity? Depends on how you approach it. The WOD's as written will kill ANYONE if approached with 100% intensity every day. You have to find your own sweet spot and run with that.

Bill Fox has a great article along this line in this months PM as well.
Great question!